March 17, 2011 · 6:44 pm

The Ten Most Miserable States – 24/7 Wall St.

Interesting….

You’ll have to click the link at the bottom to get the actual states….

 

“Well-being” is an inexplicable state of mind. How well people feel is based on their own internal compasses. Researchers have enough trouble defending the methodology used in testing people’s IQs.

The difficulty of measuring happiness has not stopped Gallup from taking polls on the subject. The survey company says that the aspects of well-being are “six subcategories: life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, healthy behavior, work environment, and basic access.” Gallup supposes that people will answer the same questions about subjective measures objectively.

The survey company has taken its data and broken it down by state, metropolitan, and congressional districts.  Members of Congress in unhappy districts may fear for their jobs if they believe that voters chose their elected officials based on how they feel about themselves.

24/7 Wall St. took the Gallup information and added additional data that shows the emotional state of the states’ residents. Our analysis includes median income. West Virginia is at the bottom of the rankings. It has the second lowest median income among all 50 states.  24/7 Wall St. also added unemployment statistics to its analysis. There is a close correlation between joblessness and well-being. 24/7 used data regarding the percentage of adults who are obese, however these numbers came from Gallup. West Virginia has the highest obesity rate of any state–33.5%.

This is the 24/7 Wall St. list of The Ten Most Miserable States. Data used includes figures from Gallup, the Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Gallup’s description of its study: “The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index is the first-ever daily assessment of U.S. residents’ health and well-being.” The organizations interview at least 1,000 U.S. adults every day.  The data used in this analysis comes from Gallup’s in-depth 2010 report on the states.

More:   The Ten Most Miserable States – 24/7 Wall St..

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March 17, 2011 · 6:27 pm

Technological changes may lead to “reading divide” | The Raw Story

Interesting article, but I don’t go along with the overall premise…

I think e-readers have the potential to equalize and expand the reading public…

I keep reading, at some point in the near future,  Amazon may give away Kindles for free.  Sounds crazy, but Kindle users read more books and it could drive the e-book market further along and make this a profitable move…

Plus, the younger generation seems much more likely to respond to technology than to “paper” books…

Being able to download a book from the airwaves only seems to increase availability.  And Amazon has a lot of classics for free.

And I love my Kindle….

I’ve always been a big reader, but now I read even more…

TOKYO (Reuters) – The rapid rise of e-books could lead to a “reading divide” as those unable to afford the new technology are left behind, even as U.S. reading and writing skills decline still further.

At particular threat are African-American communities where many students are already falling behind their majority peers in terms of literacy, said award-winning writer Marita Golden — and this despite the growing ranks of noted African-American writers, such as Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.

“My biggest concern is that the technology will continue to widen the gap,” she told Reuters. “It won’t just be the digital divide but also a reading divide if reading becomes an activity that’s now dependent on technology.

“If reading becomes dependent on technology that must be purchased, then I think we may see the literacy divide persist and even widen.”

Years of discussion on the future of books amid the sweeping technological changes, along with a desire to make sure black writers were included in that discussion, prompted Golden to pull together her recent book, “The Word,” in which African-American writers talk about how reading shaped their lives for the better.

Edward P. Jones, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Known World,” said he felt that “reading and writing are the foundations for becoming a better person and having a better life.” Others said how reading about lives like their own helped validate their experiences and give them confidence.

In this sense technology, such as e-readers, can be both a blessing and a curse in terms of literacy, Golden said, with some readers who might have been intimidated by the number of pages in a traditional book eagerly reading on an e-reader.

In addition, with the U.S. African-American community owning more mobile phones and BlackBerries than the white community, potential exists to tap into a broad market, she added.

“But the problem is that you can either download games or download books, and we don’t know what people are going to download,” she said.

Despite undergoing some struggles with the idea of the new technology, Golden said that the need to emphasize the basics remains more important than ever.

via Technological changes may lead to “reading divide” | The Raw Story.

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March 17, 2011 · 6:19 pm

The Internet and Campaign 2010 – Pew Research Center

Some interesting data…

I think it’s only a matter of time before the internet passes Newspapers and Television…

Summary of Findings

More than half of all American adults were online political users in 2010

Fully 73% of adult internet users (representing 54% of all U.S. adults) went online to get news or information about the 2010 midterm elections, or to get involved in the campaign in one way or another. We refer to these individuals as “online political users” and our definition includes anyone who did at least one of the following activities in 2010:

Get political news online – 58% of online adults looked online for news about politics or the 2010 campaigns, and 32% of online adults got most of their 2010 campaign news from online sources.

Go online to take part in specific political activities, such as watch political videos, share election-related content or “fact check” political claims – 53% of adult internet users did at least one of the eleven online political activities we measured in 2010.

Use Twitter or social networking sites for political purposes – One in five online adults (22%) used Twitter or a social networking site for political purposes in 2010.1

Taken together, 73% of online adults took part in at least one of these activities in 2010. Although our definition of an online political user has changed significantly over time, the overall audience for political engagement and information-seeking has grown since the most recent midterm election cycle in 2006 — using a different array of activities to measure online political activity, we found at that time that 31% of adults used the internet for campaign-related purposes.

As an example of the changing landscape for online politics since the last midterm contest, the proportion of internet users who viewed campaign-related videos online jumped from 19% in 2006 to 31% in 2010. Similarly, as recently as the 2006 election cycle just 16% of online adults used online social networking sites; today roughly six in ten online adults are social networkers, and these sites have emerged as a key part of the political landscape in the most recent campaign cycle.2

via The Internet and Campaign 2010 – Pew Research Center.

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March 16, 2011 · 7:44 pm

Forever Prep: Virginia Living Magazine Feature Shot at Sweet Briar College- and some other school

There is a photo spread in this month’s “Virginia Living” magazine called “Forever Prep.”

For  those who don’t know, the Virginia  college circuit is the epicenter of Prep in Virginia and the South.

There is an article in the “paper” magazine also that talks about the Virginia Prep lifestyle of the 1980’s that I and many of my friends were part of at Sweet Briar, Washington and Lee, Mary Baldwin, Hollins, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and UVa….and how it translates to today’s world.

It’s  also a reference to “True Prep” that came out late last year and the 30th Anniversary of the “Official Preppy Handbook”.

The photo’s were shot at Sweet Briar College and Hampden-Sydney…

Sweet Briar makes perfect sense, but Hampden Sydney???

This Washington and Lee Man may have to cancel his subscription….

And I do have a subscription…

It’s a sickness…

Here is the Link: http://www.virginialiving.com/downloads/slideshows/274/slides/0/index.html

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March 16, 2011 · 7:32 pm

Why Don’t Farm Animals Get the Respect Pets Do? – NYTimes.com

This opinion piece from Mark Bittman in the New York Times makes a very good point…

Animals on Corporate farms and mass produced poultry, beef and pork come from animals raised in conditions that are almost unimaginable.

I gave up veal years ago…

I try to buy local and free-range as much as possible because I know the animals are treated humanely.

I can’t go vegan, but I do try to find meat that at least seems to come from farms that treat their animals humanely.

If all we pet lovers put pressure on the system to improve the lot of farm animals, think how much we could accomplish…

It would be better not only for the animals, but for us….

But thanks to Common Farming Exemptions, as long as I “raise” animals for food and it’s done by my fellow “farmers” (in this case, manufacturers might be a better word), I can put around 200 million male chicks a year through grinders (graphic video here), castrate — mostly without anesthetic — 65 million calves and piglets a year, breed sick animals (don’t forget: more than half a billion eggs were recalled last summer, from just two Iowa farms) who in turn breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria, allow those sick animals to die without individual veterinary care, imprison animals in cages so small they cannot turn around, skin live animals, or kill animals en masse to stem disease outbreaks.

All of this is legal, because we will eat them.

via Why Don’t Farm Animals Get the Respect Pets Do? – NYTimes.com.

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March 16, 2011 · 7:04 pm

Post-ABC poll shows Sarah Palin losing more ground among Republicans – The Washington Post

Damn…

I can’t tell you how much I want her to run for President and be the GOP nominee…

It would assure President Obama’s re-election and might let the Dems retake the House…

And it would destroy the Republican Party for the foreseeable future…

And be entertaining as hell…

But I knew her shelf life was limited.  Even the rabid GOP Tea Partiers can only take so much of her….

But there is hope she will recover- or Michelle Bachmann will succeed her in the Crazy, Intellectually Challenged GOP Female Candidate Slot…

Sarah Palin’s ratings within the Republican Party are slumping, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, a potentially troubling sign for the former Alaska governor as she weighs whether to enter the 2012 presidential race.

For the first time in Post-ABC News polling, fewer than six in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents see Palin in a favorable light, down from a stratospheric 88 percent in the days after the 2008 Republican National Convention and 70 percent as recently as October.

In one sense, the poll still finds Palin near the top of a list of eight potential contenders for the GOP nomination. The former vice presidential candidate scores a 58 percent favorable rating, close to the 61 percent for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and 60 percent for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, and better than the 55 percent that onetime House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) received.

But Palin’s unfavorable numbers are significantly higher than they are for any of these possible competitors. Fully 37 percent of all Republicans and GOP-leaning independents now hold a negative view of her, a new high.

via Post-ABC poll shows Sarah Palin losing more ground among Republicans – The Washington Post.

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March 16, 2011 · 6:51 pm

Survey shows upbeat outlook from US millionaires | The Raw Story

Of course, the are upbeat…

They own the Government!

This just shows, as Scott Fitzgerald said, “Let me tell you about the very rich.  The rich are different from you and me”…

Totally different perspective….

From RawStory.com:

More than four in 10 American millionaires say they now need $7.5 million to feel wealthy, according to a survey that uncovered surprising levels of optimism about economic prospects.

Conducted by Fidelity Investments, the world’s largest mutual fund firm, the poll analyzed the investing attitudes and behaviors of more than 1,000 millionaire households in the United States.

The 58 percent of millionaires who said they did feel wealthy said they began to feel so with $1.75 million in investable assets, up from $1.5 million in 2008.

Surprisingly, given the current economic climate, the poll revealed that the longer-term outlook was at its most positive since Fidelity began conducting the survey in 2006.

via Survey shows upbeat outlook from US millionaires | The Raw Story.

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March 16, 2011 · 6:45 pm

Glenn Beck blasted for Japan quake comments | The Raw Story

I’m sorry, but this man is evil…

There is no excuse for this kind of insensitivity and self-promotion…

That’s what I hate about these Right Wing Commenters/Entertainers;  they think they can read God’s mind and are just a little too smug and sure of themselves…

And if he thinks God punishes people, he better be very careful as he’s probably next on her list….

From RawStory.com:

US celebrities and media Tuesday blasted right-wing radio host and television presenter Glenn Beck for calling the monster quake that rocked Japan last week a message from God.

Actress, author and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg said Beck should “check the mirror” if he thought Friday’s 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami were signs of God’s anger with mankind.

“If this is because we’re misbehaving and God is pissed (angry), I would check the mirror, Glenn,” Goldberg said on The View talkshow, which she co-hosts with three other women.

The disaster has claimed nearly 3,400 lives and left more than 10,000 people missing in northeastern Japan.

In a rambling presentation on his radio show on Monday, Beck said God may have caused the catastrophe in Japan because he was angry with mankind, and warned people to change their ways.

“I’m not saying God is, you know, causing earthquakes. Well — I’m not not saying that either,” Beck said.

“What God does is God’s business, I have no idea. But I’ll tell you this: whether you call it Gaia or whether you call it Jesus — there’s a message being sent. And that is, ‘Hey, you know that stuff we’re doing? Not really working out real well. Maybe we should stop doing some of it,'” Beck said.

 

He suggested that God could be appeased — and presumably convinced to not cause any more earthquakes — if people followed the biblical Ten Commandments.

Goldberg’s co-host on The View, Joy Behar, pointed out that earthquakes have rattled Earth since the planet’s creation, and asked which commandment God wanted people to follow.

“How about: ‘Thou shalt not advance your career on the back of the Japanese people right now?'” she said.

via Glenn Beck blasted for Japan quake comments | The Raw Story.

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March 16, 2011 · 8:17 am

GOP Cuts: A “Guillotine Job” on the Special Olympics | Mother Jones

But they retained the Bush Tax Cuts for Millionaires!

I would say this shows where their hearts are, if they had one….

Again, Elections have consequences!

And we are paying them…

From MotherJones:

Food safety, family planning, cancer research, and low-income housing—now add the Special Olympics to the long list of organizations and federal programs targeted for major funding cuts by congressional Republicans.

The House GOP’s budget, which passed last month, takes a hatchet to programs for disabled kids and Special Olympics athletes. The proposed cuts could force the closure of at least one Special Olympics program, which is funded through the Department of Education. Dubbed Project UNIFY, the program serves more than 750,000 students in 43 states and draws from techniques used in Special Olympics training for activities in public schools.

via GOP Cuts: A “Guillotine Job” on the Special Olympics | Mother Jones.

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March 16, 2011 · 8:11 am

Boehner, Where Is, “Where Are the Jobs?”? | Mother Jones

More coverage on the changing poll numbers…

The GOP campaigned on jobs, jobs, jobs and hasn’t done a thing about creating jobs since they took over the House.  Instead, they are pursuing radical budget cuts and tax cuts for Corporations and the Rich that will kill jobs and the recovery.

And going after policies and institutions that either a) dare to question them and hold them accountable or b) don’t fit their 19th Century notions of the role of women and minorities.

But the public is getting wise to the Republicans-again.

Let’s hope the Electorate retains the information better this time….

From David Corn at MotherJones:

Before the 2010 congressional elections, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his fellow GOPers developed and implemented a simple campaign strategy: say “where are the jobs?” over and over and over. Even though the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had declared thst President Barack Obama’s stimulus package had created or saved about 3 million jobs and a recovery (albeit weak) was under way, the Republicans blamed Obama for screwing up the economy (not Wall Street or the Bush-Cheney administration). In politics, an attack doesn’t have to be fair or accurate to work—and this one did.

Since then, have you heard Boehner screaming about jobs? No. He and his comrades have focused on one thing: cutting government spending, which will undoubtedly lead to job loss in the short run (if not the long run). Wait—that’s not fair. They’ve also focused on abortion (with legislation that would make it harder for a woman who was raped to obtain federal assistance for an abortion), Planned Parenthood (with legislation that would defund the outfit), NPR (ditto), and American Muslims (with today’s hearings on radicalization among Muslim Americans). There’s not been much talk of jobs.

Consequently, this new poll from Bloomberg is hardly a surprise:

Americans say President Barack Obama lacks an effective strategy for improving the U.S. economy. They have much less confidence in the Republican vision for success.

By a margin of 51 percent to 40 percent, a Bloomberg National Poll shows Americans say Obama lacks the right formula for long-term growth, a goal he presented in his State of the Union address with the phrase “win the future.”

The Democratic president still does better than Republicans: When asked who has a better vision for the years ahead, 45 percent of poll respondents chose Obama and 33 percent picked the Republicans.

Four months ago, the GOPers shellacked the Democrats. They became the new kids on the block and claimed they were eager to refurnish their image with the American public. Yet once in power, they have reverted to their old ways—culture war and spending cuts.

via Boehner, Where Is, “Where Are the Jobs?”? | Mother Jones.

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